News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-02-10
A GEORGIA HEROINE.
Who was This Brave Young Girl that
Saved the SOId!t RS Life.
From the Atlanta Constitution.


The night of Aug. 6, 1864, tram
loaded with wounded Confederate sol.
diers left Atlanta on the Macon road.
The train was made up of ordinary b
and cattle cars, and was des'i ed for
Macon. The wounded, after having re
ceived such surgical aid as could be
rendered at the field hospitals, were
placed as thickly as possible on the bare
| floors of the cars. In many instances,
when the wounds were of serious
character, the soldiers clothing had
necessarily been cut away by the sur
| geons, who not having other garments
| to replace those clotted with blood and
| probably cut into strings, the soldier
| was placed aboard the cars with only a
| shirt or a pair of drawers on. rs he hap
pened to be woun ed in the lower or
upper limbs. occupied a small space
| in one of the cattle cars. | h d received
| a wound on the line that morning which
necessitated the immediate amputation
of leg above the knee. | must have
| been Unconscious at the time of being
| put aboard the train, as the first dis
! tinct recollection | have was of being
| taken up, as if by the starting of the
train. l shall never forget the scene
upon which my eyes opened. A tallow
candle at each end of the car threw a
ftful and weird light over the CHASTITY
spectacle. Men there were W unded in
every conceivable way-some With shat
tered arms and legs; some with bloody
stumps of limbs; some with gaping
wou DIS il their trunks; others with
torn and bandaged heads, and all with
ghastly, pain distorted faces, and
added to this the agonizing means,
prayers, and cries for ''water" water"
shat rose above the din n d rattle of the
train, gave one an impression of the in
fernal regions, a d recall 1t now with
q feeling of the greatest horror.
In strange contrast to these CHASTITY
surroundings, however, was the appear
ance of twp female figures - an older
middle-aged lady and a young girl of Is
or 16-who were seated OF a box or
trunk Just between the doors, in the
center of the car. l remember a feeling
of both surprise and Joy at seeing them,
although suffering fortunes from my
own wound at the time. Where they
came from or what was their destina-
ton are matters Of conjecture, but l
always supposed them to have been
refugees from the storm of shot and
shell which Sherman's guns were hourly
pouring upon the beautiful Gate Ci y.
They bore evidence of culture and re-
fnement, and their bearing was that of
well-to-do ladies. But there they sat
surrounded by sight that would make
the stoutest heart quail. No word
passed between them and myself, but
the old lady, turning her eyes in my
direction, observed that a stream of
blood was running from my wounded
leg A ligature had slipped from the
main artery, and death was only ques-
ito of few minutes. A few hurried
whispers were exchanged bet cen the
tao, and then the young girl arose and
came and knelt down beside me, and,
taking handkerchief from her pocket,
tied it securely around the bleeding
stump. This done she took parasol
which she carried, and, passing it
under the handkerchief, twisted it until
the flow Of blood was completely
checked. And thus she knelt through
out that long night, holding the parasol
upon which depended a human life,
while the train went along at what ap-
peared a snail's pace. We reached
Griffin at A. NJ, and through the
efforts of my girlish preseryer 1 was
taken from the train and carried to the
Catoosa Hospital, where the refractory
artery received immediate attention.
Under the illful treatment of the sur
geons and the kind nursing of the noble
ladies of Griffin I finally recovered.
The ladies probably continued their
journey on the train, and from that day
to this I have remained in ignorance of
the name or residence of my preserver.
Not a word was exchanged between us.
She seemed in no mood to talk. and l
was too weak and too sorely tortured
by pain to utter anything save groans.
But my eyes seemed riveted during all
the long hours on her delicate, aristo
cratic face, and well remember the
traces of deep sympathy that mingled
with her maidenly bushes.